我在知乎上看到過這樣一個問題：《霸王別姬》為什麼是中國電影的巔峰之一？
在這個問題下面，我看到了一個這樣的答案：《霸王別姬》是一部史詩電影。什麼叫史詩？其實就是透過講述個體的命運，來折射一段歷史和一個時代的樣貌。這就是史詩。
影片以兩位伶人，程蝶衣和段小樓為主要任務，講述了從1924年到1977年的故事，這段故事跨越了中國歷史上最動盪的一段歲月，你能從時間跨度上感受到他的史詩感。
這部影片深刻清晰地展示了這段歷史，這段時代在人身上留下的痕跡。程蝶衣一直沒有改變，他至純至真，是一個十足的理想主義者，自始至終都沒有被時代所改變；而相對的段小樓被時代深刻改變了，男子氣十足的他在批鬥會上成了縮頭烏龜。但最後他們都算是迎來了悲劇的結局：程蝶衣一再遭受背叛，段小樓迎娶別人為妻，在強硬時代到來時，京劇一點點變味，他的理想，他對京劇的痴迷對舞臺的迷戀都成為了他悲劇結局的稻草；而段小樓他失去了他的傲骨，再也不能成為他的霸王，這是他的悲劇。而從他們兩個人的悲劇中，又能看到一種更大的悲劇，宿命式的，似乎無法逃脫，不論選擇了什麼，他們的結局似乎不會有什麼改變，每個人不過是歷史這座大舞臺上的匆匆過客，最後被文人搬上文字熒屏，成為一個時代的縮影，沒有辦法逃脫。他會給我們帶來一種強烈的無力感，那種久久不能忘懷的悵惘與悲傷。
而這部影片還有一個標籤，他是關於同性戀的故事。我不是很贊同，影片中的程蝶衣，他不是一一個男人的身份，以一個男人的角度，愛上了另一個男人。他一再念錯的那句臺詞“我本是男兒郎，又不是女嬌娥”。他無論怎樣死不改口，但最後經過酷壓還是完成了這一轉變。我總覺得，程蝶衣的轉變是在戲院極其嚴苛的要求下，帶有洗腦性質的，讓他將自己堪稱一位女性。
他被錯誤改正的自我性別認知，一場場壓在他身上的悲劇，讓他意識到自己的天真，人人都把戲當戲，只有他把戲當人生，所以在最後，他邁向了虞姬的宿命，成就了自己矢志不渝的天真。
翻譯成英文：
I have seen this question on Zhihu: Why is "Farewell My Concubine" one of the pinnacles of Chinese movies? Below this question, I saw an answer like this: "Farewell My Concubine" is an epic movie.
What is an epic? In fact, it reflects the appearance of a period of history and an era by telling the destiny of individuals. This is epic. The main task of the film is two actors, Cheng Dieyi and Duan Xiaolou. It tells the story from 1924 to 1977. This story spans the most turbulent period in Chinese history. You can feel it from the time span His epic sense.
This film clearly shows this history and the traces that this era left on people. Cheng Dieyi has not changed. He is pure and true, and he is a complete idealist. He has not been changed by the times from beginning to end; while the relative Duan Xiaolou has been profoundly changed by the times. He is full of masculinity in the criticism meeting. Become a tortoise with a shrunken head. But in the end they all came to a tragic ending: Cheng Dieyi suffered repeated betrayals, and Duan Xiaolou married someone else as his wife. When the tough era came, Peking Opera changed a little bit. His ideals, his obsession with Peking Opera were very important to the stage.
Infatuation has become the straw for his tragic ending; and Duan Xiaolou has lost his pride and can no longer become his overlord. This is his tragedy. And from the tragedies of the two of them, one can see a bigger tragedy, fatalistic, and seemingly inescapable. No matter what they choose, their ending seems to be unchanged. Everyone is nothing but history. The passing passengers on the big stage were finally put on the text screen by the literati, becoming the epitome of an era, and there is no way to escape. He will bring us a strong sense of powerlessness, the kind of melancholy and sadness that will not be forgotten for a long time. And this film also has a label, he is a story about homosexuality. I don't agree very much. Cheng Dieyi in the film is not a man. From a man's perspective, he falls in love with another man. He repeatedly pronounced the wrong line "I am a man, not a girl Jiao'e".
No matter how he died, he didn't change his mind, but in the end he completed the transformation after brutal pressure. I always felt that Cheng Dieyi's transformation was brainwashed under the extremely strict requirements of the theater, allowing him to call himself a woman. His wrongly corrected self-gender recognition and tragedies that weighed on him made him realize his innocence.
Everyone plays tricks, and only his tricks are his life. So in the end, he stepped towards the danger. Ji's destiny has made him unswervingly naive
參考資料：文字：知乎；圖片：百度；翻譯：Google翻譯